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By brian

We have much to be thankful for this year. Lawmakers in 22 states have passed legislation to advance cannabis reform, Vermont became the first state to end marijuana prohibition legislatively, the Northern Mariana Islands Commonwealth became the first US territory to pass a regulated marijuana marketplace, and four states approved voter-initiated ballot measures that legalized adult use (Michigan) and medical marijuana (Oklahoma, Utah, and Missouri).

Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker recently announced that her office will stop prosecuting most marijuana possession cases. Earlier this year St. Louis City Prosecuting Attorney, Kim Gardner, took similar action on simple possession cases of up to 100 grams.

One of the US Senate’s leading marijuana prohibitionists, Iowa Republican Charles Grassley, will no longer be heading the Senate Judiciary Committee in the 116th Congress. As Chair, Grassley had refused to hold any hearings or votes on marijuana-related legislation.

While Indiana did not have the opportunity to vote directly on cannabis propositions as in other states, there were numerous candidates on the ballot supportive of reforming our cannabis laws. Here's a quick rundown of some notable outcomes from election night!

Members from various NORML chapters led efforts to collect 600 letters to Congress in support of marijuana reform from attendees of Las Vegas’ first Business-to-Consumer Cannabis conference, The Herban Expo.

Post-traumatic stress, chronic pain, and other medical issues can be a matter of life or death. Moreover, failure of VA policy to allow physicians to openly talk about cannabis or recommend it has a deleterious effect on the doctor-patient relationship and on the well-being of our veterans.

Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Jim McGovern says that he will permit federal lawmakers to debate and vote on marijuana-related amendments when he assumes control of the House Rules Committee in 2019. “Unlike my predecessor, I’m not going to block amendments for marijuana,” he said.